Danganronpa IF
by murkywater
Summary: What if Makoto got the Escape Switch from the MonoMono Machine? An AU of Danganronpa written by Ryogo Narita. Spoilers for Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc. Rated M just to be safe.
1. Monokuma's Monologue

The world, you see, is full of 'If's.

Without the If of Eve being joined with Adam, society as we know it would never have existed. This world inwhich you live is only one of countless Ifs, constantly being propelled forward like a pool of mud by these possibilities. Miso soup no naka de, if you will.

What follows is an Iffy world where Ifs If Ifs. An uncertain Klein bottle where the surface and the inside are one and the same. ...Oh, don't break it, now. None of you bastards could afford to pay for it.

Ahem. Anyway, this is a world of Ifs. You could speculate and guess and make conjectures all you like, but only the future is a flexible pool of mud. The past is more solid than a -40 degree banana. The past can't be changed, and looking into 'A World That Could Have Been' won't save anyone in the real world. After all, an If is only an If. And even if there was a sickening parallel world where that particular If became real, humans can't cross those lines so easily. In this case, all Ifs are Divergence Ifs.

...You still wanna see it? You've got some sick hobbies, you know that?! Don't you think that's like desecrating Naegi-kun and the others' efforts? They're moving forward past that tragedy now, you know! ...

I'd still heap desecration on them, though. Upupupupu...

If you really wanna see this If, then it would be best if you looked at the surface of the Klein bottle first.

Maybe start by playing this game called "Dangan Ronpa" through to the end. And try to play multiple times so you get to hang out with Junko Enoshima about three times. And if you finish collecting all the items and movie clips, you're just about perfect to go.

But I guess the fact that you're already here means you obviously did all that. I'd still buy it, though. I'd still buy two copies of Dangan Ronpa!


	2. Escape Switch of Hope

"What should I do…?"

Makoto Naegi was at a loss.

His predicament was exceedingly simple, and could be divided into three categories. The first was that he was currently trapped inside the Hope's Peak Private Academy, a school attended by students with Super High School Level Talent. Naegi, chosen by a draw for the talent of Super High School Level Good Luck, came to the school for the first time that day to attend the entrance ceremony. There he suddenly lost consciousness, and when he woke up, he found that the doors and windows had all been sealed.

The second was the existence of a mysterious robot calling himself Monobear (and the mastermind behind it). "If you wanna leave this school, you have to kill someone", he had declared. The strange remote controlled robot was telling Naegi and his fellow Super High School Level students that they were to earn their freedom through murder. Multiple Monobear robots were in existence, and each one of them contained a bomb to prevent them from being attacked. Not only that, Monobear had promised a punishment for anyone who harmed him.

Finally, the third was the fact that Naegi was currently holding a button. A red button, and the words "Escape Switch" scrawled upon it with a marker. Although the his first two predicaments were excellent causes for panic, this third problem only left Naegi troubled.

He had noticed during free time that the school store was open, and found himself compelled by curiosity.

When he entered, the chaotic interior very nearly made him dizzy, but then he caught sight of something that resembled a capsule toy machine he often saw at supermarkets. The words "Monomono Machine" were written on it, and it seemed to take only the Monobear coins they found scattered in the school sometimes.

It looked rather tacky, but it might help them escape the school, he thought, and inserted the one Monobear coin he had collected. The result was this mysterious "Escape Switch".

There should have been a limit to teasing people. Naegi was almost discouraged by the switch, assuming it to be a cruel joke on the mastermind's part.

However,

"But… what if?"

That an entirely plain, ordinary boy like him was granted entry to this school was thanks to the fact that he was chosen in a draw as a bearer of Super High School Level Good Luck. And maybe that Good Luck was real.

If this switch is real, then… Maizono-san…

Naegi took a deep breath and pressed the switch.

His body was instantly struck by an intense burst of pain.

"Whoa?!"

His hands and feel went limp as he fell on the spot, unable to hold his body still. With ragged breaths he tried to figure out what had just happened to him.

Was I… electrocuted?

There was a small needle sticking out of the switch. Naegi realized that an electric current must have been flowing through it. As he lay on the floor, waiting to recover enough to stand again, he fell into thought again.

So it was fake all along, huh.

What kind of sick enjoyment was the mastermind deriving from all this?

I still feel a bit dizzy.

I think I'll just go back and sleep…

Naegi got to his feet, and step by careful step, left the school store behind him.

Naegi had no idea. The truth was, the mastermind would have been a kinder person if the switch really was fake. A small shadow squirmed inside the deserted store. The shadow of a bear.

Monobear looked at the machine silently for some time, but seconds later, he burst into laughter without his expression so much as twitching.

"Upupupupu… Upupupupupu…"

Despite the fact that he was alone, Monobear spoke as though he was conversing with someone. Or as though Monobear himself was speaking to the mastermind wearing his skin.

"I put this switch in here because I thought it might be fun if the last couple of survivors got lucky at the Monomono Machine, but I never thought he'd draw that 0.00000001% possibility. A one-in-a-hundred million chance? Is this what it means to have Super High School Level Good Luck?"

Monobear blushed and began breathing harshly. Obviously, a robot like him had no reason to breathe, but he was running on futuristic technology, squirming as though he was a living creature.

"Naegi-kun, who was chosen by draw, picked out the Escape switch in a draw. This normally never happens, does it? Is this what they call a miracle? Systems all GreeeeN for escape? Something beyond my understanding has entered the world of a Miracle Virgin like me? Hah… Hah… No no but I felt like I was going to die of excitement at the new possibilities! Cut to commercials!"

Monobear's exorbitantly elaborate built-in machinery ran at full throttle as he shuffled through expressions more smoothly than even a human being could. But he suddenly cut himself short, erased every expression from his face, and spoke through his speakers.

"Buuuuuut… Is this really a stroke of good luck? Nyohohoho… Puhyahyahyahya…"

Whispering to himself, Monobear allowed his laughter to fill the tiny room, with hope and despair-the two emotions representing the incident ahead-in equal measure.


	3. The next day, at Makoto's room

Makoto Naegi lay on his bed, his mind lost in a desperate struggle between despair and hope.

Monobear had given each student a DVD. Naegi's showed a scene insinuating that his parents and younger sister were in danger, and so he found himself with the determination to leave this school. It seemed as though the other students had also been shown shocking videos of their own. Something so shocking that they seriously began to contemplate the idea of escaping the school, even at the cost of a life.

But it was also clear that Monobear was laying out a trap. If a student was to kill another, he or she would graduate and leave the school. It looked like the mastermind behind Monobear would do anything to start off this game of murder. But what worried Naegi the most right now was the state of Sayaka Maizono, who seemed to have been hit the hardest by the DVD.

Maizono was a Super High School Level Idol who was also Naegi's classmate from Nekuro Roku Junior High. They had only really spoken in the past few days, but her optimism was a constant support for Naegi-and it went the same way for her.

If nothing else, I have to save Maizono-san… Naegi thought, when he was suddenly struck by a light headache.

…?

Was it the shock of being punched by Mondo Oowada the previous day, or an aftereffect of pressing the escape switch? Naegi ran through the possibilities in his mind, but soon the pain dissipated and he found himself even more determined than before.

Anyway, we have to all work together and- huh?

He realized that his determination was slightly different.

We 'all' have to…?

Naturally, escaping the school with all of his classmates was the most ideal scenario. But other than Maizono, he had never met any one of his classmates before, and he had no idea if he could trust them. Yet for a moment, he found himself believing that they were people worth helping even at the cost of his own life, just like Maizono.

Why?

The headache struck again. It was a strange sensation, like an artery in his brain splitting open.

Why did I just think that… I could trust everyone as much as Maizono-san…?

Naegi tried desperately to figure out why his mindset had shifted. Something was off. The pulsating pain in his head seemed to be going hand-in-hand with the sensation of something approaching him little by little. And just as he began to see a ray of light inside the fleshy darkness within his own skull, the doorbell rang.

Someone's here…

He quickly clambered off his bed, but the headache only worsened, He gave security no thought as he opened his door defenselessly, and came face-to-face with Sayaka Maizono.

"I'm sorry for bothering you so late…"

"Maizono-san…?!"

The pain.

"Why are you here at this hour…?"

The moment he caught sight of her, the pulsating pain grew quicker and quicker. It felt as though his world was being torn down from the inside out.

"I'm sorry… Something strange just happened… Naegi-kun? What's wrong? You don't look well…"

Maizono had been trembling and pale when she appeared before Naegi, but she looked like she was surprised by Naegi's even worse complexion.

"Oh, yeah… I… I'm fine… It's just… a head-"

Naegi was unable to finish his sentence. His eyes rolled back as he slowly collapsed on the carpet, Sayaka Maizono's beautiful scream ringing over his head.


End file.
